Starting Chemo in March 2014

This is my first post so bare with me! I'm a 41 year old wife of 23 years, mother of two children. A daughter age 12 and a son age 23. I found out I have breast cancer on February 17, 2014. Since then it has been a roller coaster! After tests, biopsies, and scans I've ended up at the Markey Cancer Center in Lexington Ky.  I am actually typing this first post while taking my first chemo. I have to take a total of 6. Then surgery, then 6 more months of herceptin. So this is just the beginning! I've went thru so many emotions over the past month. I have a strong support base and a husband that won't quit! He researches everything and even signed me up for this site. He's been my rock! My kids have been wonderful too I'm one lucky girl even though this has happened! I'm gonna hang in the best I can! 

My center comes around with lunch for patients, sandwiches, and offers you a choice of chips, cookies, drinks, and jello! Then they put all the leftovers in the kitchen so caregives can help themselves. I said yes to everything, but brought my own lunch because I'm not such a sandwich person.

jmg58 - I didn't have the redness on my tongue, but I did have thrush, which is probably what is happening with the part that is turning white. It's a form of yeast infection, so call your MO right away for medication. I was on Nystatin, which is a liquid that you swish in your mouth and either spit or swallow, 5 times a day for something like 10 days. Also be on the lookout for signs of a vaginal yeast infection as well. Do whatever you can to shut down those infections right away! It can be bad news if your white count is low - that's how I wound up in hospital.

I didn't have true thrush but had the white fuzzy tongue.  My oncologist wrote my pharmacy a script for liquid lodocaine.

I made the mixture myself.  One part children's Advil, one part children's benydryl one part maalox and five drops of lidocaine.  some pharmacies call this "majic mouthwash".  Ask your MO immediately.  It only gets worse if not treated.  

Thanks for the update, WifeWBC.....I'm so glad to hear that she's doing better now.  Also interesting for me since I'm 5 days out and you said she didn't feel well for the first 7...so we'll see what tomorrow brings for me.  So nice that she had a great nurse for the infusion....that certainly had to put her much more at ease than otherwise...and it sounds like if she's twerking in the kitchen, she's certainly got a great upbeat attitude!I certainly hope she's gonna feel good now for the next two weeks!

I have to check out one of those Look Good Feel Good Things...I know there was one here a couple of weeks before my chemo which I couldn't attend because of work...I'm hoping there's another coming up sometime soon!  

I got a prescription today for Nystatin for the thrush, have to use every 6 hours...swish and SWALLOW.  Feel a little nauseous from it; so just took only my second nausea pill...hope it works for this.

Night, all...wishing you all pleasant dreams.

Hey, WifeWBC - what a terrific report - go, Jackie!!!  Sounds as though she was able to right the ship with good speed and is now back to living her life instead of bobbing and weaving around these stupid side effects :-) 

With regard to what you can expect, I can only suggest that you not "borrow" symptoms from anyone else's experience, because we're truly all so different when it comes to chemo and how our bodies process it. I have heard that to some extent, the effects are sort of cumulative, and many who managed earlier cycles with relative ease do struggle a bit toward the end because their reserves of energy are fairly depleted. But again, that's not a guarantee that Jackie will find she's dragging herself through those last few treatments. I think there's a lot to be said for the power of your state of mind, you know? The end of treatment can be a finish line that you stride across with a tremendous feeling of accomplishment and pride, or it can be a shore onto which you crawl after having spent so many months at sea. 

Chemo is hard. It's as physically challenging as anything you're ever going to experience in your life. I hope Jackie can be patient with herself if her body asks for some time to recuperate, because holy cow, it deserves that. And no matter what, Jackie will make it through. 

Oh wow, herald man, I ran into that same pusher, the little munchkins are making their rounds. I too was weak,  and since addicts do love company I bought a box for my hubby. Sadly, he does not possess the willpower that I have and his box is nearly empty. He will now stop at nothing to find my stash but I have hidden them securely, he may have to find his own pusher…

Serioulsly, I'm glad to hear that your wife is feeling better, I think one day at a time is what we all have to focus on here, with the finish line in the back of our minds. I just had my first chemo last Friday, and so far my SE have been barely anything to speak of, then I start reading about what may happen after round 2 and I have to pull myself back to the present… Right now, all is well. That story about that boy with leukemia does put things in perspective, all the young women on here do that for me as well. Going through this while raising kids… I'm just to glad mine waited till I was 56, my grand baby is only 2 months so I don't have to put on a brave face for her.

Nina, you hit it on the head about not borrowing symptoms, yesterday I started reading about the mouth sores and I started wondering if I was going to get them. THen I had to reel myself in and realize that I don't have them now… period.

Xrayalli, you sound very strong, thanks for starting this thread, I don't post a lot but I do read up on each of you everyday.

I do, however have a little insomnia which is why I'm typing here at 4:30 am.. I don't have to work tomorrow so I took a half a xanax, and drinking chamomile tea and shooting for sleeping in. May not happen, my dogs have an internal alarm and hubby's away on business… we'll see.

Denise41, good luck, we're all of us here in about the same place, for me like I said above it's all about staying in today. My good friend just spent a few nights here while my hubby is gone and she kept talking about the vacation we're going to take when I'm done, and next spring this and that. It's not that I'm NOT planning for down the road, I'm going to watch my granddaughter graduate HS.  but I finally told her, I just need to do this first, be right here today and tomorrow and the weekend…. it's just where I need to be right now.

Anyway, that's my now 5am ramble, hope you're all having sweet dreams….

Good Morning (Day after round #2 of AC) - doing fine this morning, but felt like a zombie after that treatment.  Boy,I don't know why, but as the nurse pulled all the tubes out and cleaned up my port.  I could hardly keep my eyes open.  A friend of mine drove me home and I think I slept almost continuously from 1:30 or so to now...that's about 16 hours or something like that.  CRAZY!  Of course I had to get up and take an anti nausea and an Ativan during that time and drink water and pee a few times as well.  So....so far so good.  No mouth sores yet, which I am really happy about because I do tend to get those.

Oh one more thing, as I was blowdrying my hair to get out the door yesterday, I noticed the longer strands of my now short haircut just slowly coming out.  I have to say I have had so much preparation here with you all and with friends of mine that have gone before me, but it was still a very strange feeling.  This morning I still have hair (at least for one more day....maybe more) so I'll take it.

My son comes home from college tonight for Spring Break....really looking forward to giving him a big hug! I hope you all have good things in store for you today!

Had #3 of 12 Taxol... have never suffered from fatigue..usually on the go...Are any of your symptoms dizziness. I feel like I'm on a boat. MO thinks it could be inner ear cuz I was doing this some right before chemo started. However, the breast was changing daily which meant the BC was changing/growing so I have contributed it to fatigue. Any thoughts?

Good attitude Denise!  Have a wonderful day!!

I don't feel well enough to catch up at the moment, but I did see the words chocolate and Cheezits and that certainly deserved one of these:  

I hope you feel better JMG58. 

Medicmom - Welcome to the group.  It's a great group of women and a couple men.  That is for sure!

Good luck tomorrow, Alli!!!!!  I love Bugles so much (in the pantheon of chip-like products, they tie for number #2 with Doritos Cool Ranch chips, but both of them must take a back seat to the ultimate sleazy chip, which is Munchos). Also, Cheezits are coated with cheesey powder, and cheese is protein, and Raisinets are fruit, so who can judge you? WHO? Nobody, that's who.

I had my Herceptin infusion this afternoon. The chemo nurse was horrified when she saw all of my mouth sores, and wanted to know why I didn't call her about them. Um, because I knew I was going to be seeing her in a day and I had Anbesol and baking soda until then? She gave me a scrip for magic mouthwash and also some samples of Gelclair, which is like MuGard (these are products that basically coat the lining of your mouth and prevent sores, or if sores have formed, the coating lets those sores heal up). 

Keep on keepin' on, March chemo people!!

Hey folks, just checking in today - first infusion, will be having four in total, 21 days apart.  Feeling weird, tired finally after the hyper of the steroids.  Had no sleep last night, well I could of been sleeping, but I was asking myself that question all through the night - so probably was quite awake.

Went to the meeting last night for new cancer patients at the local Cancer Society.  It was interesting, nothing I did not know but just nice to chat amongst the "knowers".  Go every Wednesday night for 6 weeks, so I am sure we will get to know each other quite well.  Felt good doing that the night before treatment started.

Infusion went well, feeling fine, hoping the next few days are SE minimal?

Good luck to all of those who are starting treatment this week - ((hugs))

genny - I'm at Day 14, and my scalp has been getting a little sore the past few days. Looks like today may be haircut day, as I'm now brushing out some pretty big clumps. My daughter is talking about giving me a mohawk before finishing off the chemo chop. As long as it amuses her, that's fine by me. Better that it be a wacky, fun experience than a scary one.